Zika: What You Need to Know, and Where You Can Find It

The Zika virus is now present in Florida – more than 200 cases have been confirmed. Zika is a mosquito-borne virus and, while most people who contract it don’t even know they have it, a Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects, including microcephaly.

The best way to prevent Zika is to prevent mosquito bites. It’s important that everyone, not just pregnant women, take steps to avoid getting bitten. That’s because even if a healthy, non-pregnant person contracts Zika and doesn’t become sick (or doesn’t even know they are infected), that person could make it possible for a mosquito to spread the virus to people who are vulnerable to a Zika infection.

There are several ways mosquitos can be controlled around the home, including these:

Use window and door screens
Empty and scrub, turn over, cover, or throw out any items that hold water
Use outdoor flying insect spray
Repair cracks or gaps in septic tanks

All of the confirmed cases of Zika in the U.S. are travel-related (that is, the infected person contracted Zika outside of the U.S.), so it is important to make every effort to prevent the transmission of Zika this summer. This is especially true in Florida. As Dr. Antonio Crespo, an infectious disease specialist at Orlando Health, told the Tampa Bay Times, “we are a major tourist destination for visitors from the epidemic areas…. someone who is infected could come here to Orlando, for example, making it possible to spread the virus to (Florida).”

Here is where you can go to learn more. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Florida Department of Health and the Office of Minority Health have produced resources around several relevant topics:

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